Do people born in autumn really live longer?

2023-09-06 20:59:00, Kuriozitete CNA

Astrologers tell us that the month we were born can greatly influence what happens in our lives. But can the season in which we are born affect longevity?

According to a 2001 study from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS) and a 2011 study from the University of Chicago in the US, published in the "Journal of Aging Research" , a growing body of evidence suggests this may be true.

Plank's study found that people born in Austria and Denmark during the fall season lived slightly longer than those born at other times of the year. The study then looked at people living in the Southern Hemisphere - specifically Australia - where the seasons are opposite to those in the north.

The results revealed that the opposite was true: People born in the autumn months of the Southern Hemisphere with spring-like conditions lived somewhat less than those born in spring - or what coincides with autumn in that part of the world.

Meanwhile, a 2012 study from the University of Chicago analyzed the lifespans of 1,500 people born in the autumn of the late 19th century, and found that about 40 percent of them lived to be 100 years old compared to their siblings and spouses. born at other times of the year. Most importantly, the inclusion of spouses in the Chicago study also verified the impact of other lifestyle factors on life expectancy, such as poverty.

The mother's diet may play a role

The results from the Max Planck Institute and Chicago studies may have less to do with the season of a child's birth, and more to do with the quality of food available to a mother during pregnancy. In late summer and early autumn (the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere), there is an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables for a pregnant mother.

Seasonality can also affect the likelihood that a mother will experience an infection or other health complications during pregnancy, as well as the chances that the child will experience something similar after birth, affecting their health and well-being later in life.

But whether a baby is born in the fall or a woman is planning the best time to get pregnant, S. Olshanski, a professor of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says it applies to the population, not to individuals in particular. For an individual, the month of birth will be mostly irrelevant.

What really matters is lifestyle and inherited genetics. But Leonid Garilov of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, and first author of the Journal of Aging Research study, disagrees. "The findings of this study support the idea of ??programming early aging and human lifespan," he says.

Life expectancy can also be affected by birth weight

The month in which a child is born is not the only factor that seems to influence its life expectancy. The University of Chicago also found that firstborns of both sexes were more likely to celebrate their 100th birthday. Possible explanations include the better overall health of younger parents, as well as the attention paid to the newborn compared to later-born children, improved social, emotional and mental development.

According to researcher Leonid A. Gavrilov, findings on first-born children are not new. "There are many observations that first-born children have an advantage both in terms of health and academic achievements," he says. But from modern medicine to the availability of more valuable foods throughout the year in some areas, it remains to be seen how the month of birth and the order of birth will affect the life expectancy of children in the future./ Translated and adapted from CNA